Symptoms of pancreatic cysts

Due to the variety of etiological factors of the disease, as well as the size and number of cysts, their different localization (head, body, tail of the pancreas), the symptoms of pancreatic cysts are extremely diverse.

Congenital, retention, and sometimes false and traumatic cysts may be asymptomatic for some time. In some cases, only after careful questioning of the patient can it be established that he or she has suffered acute pancreatitis or abdominal trauma in the past, which alerts the doctor to conduct a more detailed examination of the pancreas in such a patient. Sometimes a cyst or cysts of the pancreas are discovered by chance: during a routine examination, during an ultrasound of the abdomen (which in recent years, due to its harmlessness to the patient and high information content, has come out on top among instrumental examination methods) or during CT. In some cases, radiologists, during a contrast study of the upper gastrointestinal tract, note the displacement of the stomach or transverse colon by some formation located in the area of the pancreas.

Sometimes a “swelling” or “tumor-like formation” that gradually increases in size and is located in the left half of the abdomen attracts the patient’s attention and forces him to see a doctor.

However, most often dyspeptic disorders, pain in the left hypochondrium, often of a girdle nature, diarrhea, the occurrence of thirst and polyuria and other signs of chronic pancreatitis are the leading ones, especially with an alcohol history and the characteristic appearance of the patient. Taking into account all these factors, the doctor prescribes an examination, during which cysts are detected.

Often the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis are very pronounced and greatly disturb the patient.

Course, complications of pancreatic cysts

Due to the etiological and morphological diversity of pancreatic cysts, their clinical course has many variants - from asymptomatic or almost asymptomatic to cases with severe symptoms, constant excruciating almost incessant pain, symptoms of digestive disorders due to insufficiency of the exocrine function of the pancreas, severe manifestations of diabetes mellitus, which is a consequence of damage to the pancreatic islets, significant weight loss, up to exhaustion, due to disruption of all digestive processes in the intestine and absorption of its end products - monomers: amino acids, monosaccharides, fatty acids, as well as vitamins, etc.

Possible complications of pancreatic cysts are also extremely diverse. One of the relatively common ones is a cyst rupture into a hollow organ, which in some cases can cause additional complications: bleeding, suppuration, exacerbation of pancreatitis, etc. But in some cases, a cyst rupture into a hollow organ can contribute to the improvement of the general condition of the patient: pain decreases or disappears, with large cysts, symptoms of compression of neighboring organs and the surrounding cyst and still functioning tissue of the pancreas are eliminated (and this compression usually contributes to tissue atrophy and the development of fibrosis). A cyst rupture into the free abdominal cavity can cause peritonitis. Compression of the terminal part of the common bile duct by a cyst located in the head of the pancreas can cause cholestasis and mechanical subhepatic jaundice with all its symptoms. There may also be suppuration of the cyst, formation of various fistulas, usually difficult to heal, bleeding, including massive bleeding with blood entering the gastrointestinal tract and development of severe iron deficiency anemia. Bleeding into the cyst itself is also possible. A large cyst of the head of the pancreas can compress the duodenum, disrupting the passage of contents coming from the stomach. P. Banks, who is considered one of the leading American pancreatologists, based on reports from medical literature, lists in his monograph (1982) such rare, but existing complications of pseudocysts as rupture of the spleen, bleeding from the splenic artery, rupture of the pseudocyst into the esophagus, etc.

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